Thursday, September 6, 2018

Getting Wisdom

Thursday, September 6, 2018

These are the proverbs of Solomon, David’s son, king of Israel.  Their purpose is to teach people wisdom and discipline, to help them understand the insights of the wise.  Their purpose is to teach people to live disciplined and successful lives, to help them do what is right, just, and fair.  These proverbs will give insight to the simple, knowledge and discernment to the young.  Let the wise listen to these proverbs and become even wiser.  Let those with understanding receive guidance by exploring the meaning in these proverbs and parables, the words of the wise and their riddles.  Fear of the Lord is the foundation of true knowledge, but fools despise wisdom and discipline.  Proverbs 1:1-7 (NLT)

This is the second time this text appears in our readings this year (you might think someone is trying to get a point across), and you can read what I wrote about it HERE.
The line between wisdom and foolishness isn’t a degree from the latest .com university.  Iconic to wisdom is the name Solomon, son of King David, author of Proverbs and Ecclesiastes.  Solomon is revered as the wisest human ever, and we do well to listen to what he says about getting wisdom.
Traditional scientific thinking is that wisdom or IQ is a matter of genetic predisposition; you’re either born a genius, an idiot, or something between.  More recent studies, of which there are no end, argue everything from the non-existence of “IQ” to a hyper-determinative reality that the DNA that runs your whole being like a super computer is set in stone and cannot be changed.  Many studies however seem to agree that IQ tends to stabilize with age.  It is this to which belongs the advice of Solomon – the simple and young can grow wise – the wise can grow wiser – leaving it up to chance (despising wisdom) is what the fool will choose every time.
I’ve never claimed to be a fountain of wisdom; nor has anyone ever labeled me as such.  (Well, maybe my kids before they were teenagers!)  But one thing I’m certain about me is that I admire people who have applied themselves to get and use wisdom. 
Solomon didn’t write the Proverbs to display or brag about his wisdom – only a fool would try that.  Rather, the king wrote to share and spread the Godly wisdom he’d been given.  A problem is that fools always despise wisdom, opting to be hard-headed, knowing with absolute stubbornness that they possess the right way, and need not listen to anyone else! 
I speak from personal experience.
It was a simple thing; the zipper on my jacket wouldn’t cooperate, and I was late for the school bus that would take me to my first-grade class.  Mom started to help me, and I yanked the zipper out of her hand – NO! said the brat with all his superior 7-year-old wisdom, I’ll do it!  It’s almost like there’s some kind of merit badge for always being self-sufficient and claiming to have accomplished life by yourself.
It’s like that with politics, family, relationships and matters of faith…we seem to learn the hard way, proving there are much fewer geniuses than we imagined.
For You Today
Solomon said the fear of the Lord is the foundation of true knowledge; in an era when the foundation is crumbling all around you, strike a blow for genuine wisdom – live a life letting God’s ways become your ways! 
You chew on that as you hit the Rocky Road; have a blessed day.

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[1] Title Image: Photo Courtesy of Pixabay.com

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